-Armageddon-

Wilson and Jenkins stealthy crept forwards as they traversed the dungeon. The tunnels were dark, but Wilson's flickering manna light gave them enough room to see. Jenkins suddenly brought his sword up, and a loud clang echoed down the hall. The guard of his sword was barely keeping a sharp metal blade from reaching his neck. He very carefully stepped out of the line of the trap's attack, and the edge crashed into the stone, sending chunks flying. "Where was your manna shield for that one?" He grumbled angrily at Wilson. Wilson replied, "Oops, didn't see it." "Sure, sure," replied Jenkins.

As the duo continued to evade or block traps as they progressed to the next room, Wilson muttered, "Looks like this is mainly a trapped dungeon." Jenkins nimbly rolled under another swinging blade and then jumped over a bottomless pit; his moved surprisingly nimbly for someone clad in plate armor. "Well, it's not so bad so far. I'm worried about the message about hide and seek with the strange."

Upon reaching the end of the 2nd room, there was a flash of light. Wilson immediately raised a spell shield and a fireball burned in his right hand as he cocked his arm to throw. Jenkins slowly approached and found a chest.

Congratulations!

A random room one award has been granted!

X2 Steel Ingots ***Rare drop*** Mytheral Ingot

Enjoy your delve!

"Wow," said Jenkins. This guild is defiantly going to want all rights to this dungeon. Mythical bars in the first room? Ridiculous!"

The two progressed deeper into their exploration. They got more and more rare metal drops as they moved through the rooms. The tenth room dropped an Ademite bar. That was really amazing and convinced the due that the wealth the dungeon could provide likely outclassed any threat; well, as long as the threat consisted of one Strange. They decided to press on further as the floors had been doable for their high-tier levels.

On the 11th floor, Wilson noticed something different and slowed his pace to a crawl. "You need to watch out, Jenkins. My danger sense spell is flashing all the way to lethal and back randomly." Jenkins crept forward, looking for a possible source of the extreme danger.

A serpentine shadow slithered before disappearing. A moment later, Jenkins had a sinking feeling in his stomach. He froze and examined the room in front of him. There was nothing there. He hesitantly turned his head to look at Wilson.

Wilson was staring at his danger alert spell, which was flashing. Jenkins looked up; A coiling serpentine tentacle tipped with a razor-sharp-looking end was poised over Wilson's head.

He screamed "Roll!" and activated his DASH skill to transport himself towards Wilson. The Tentacle came down with a thunderous crack striking the slow to react Wilson and triggering one of his life-saving treasures. A yellow shield was now enveloping him. The tentacle withdrew-seeming to vanish into oblivion, but so did Wilson.

Alert!

A Strange Game of Tag has begun.

If the Strange physically tags you, he might pierce your ward, kill you, or teleport you.

Only the individual who escapes the Strange may claim a reward from this level forward.

WARNING!

Attempts to enter level 15 will, as always, result in instant and overwhelming death.

Wilson found himself on the outside of the dungeon. He whipped the sweat from his eyes. What the fuck? Why did his anti-teleportation spell fail? He briefly considered and decided the metal spike tentacle must have disrupted his anti-teleportation field. In the brief moment, all his manna was supporting his life-saving treasure to save him from being impaled; the strange was able to teleport him because there was no manna supporting the ward.

Jenkins decided he would not go past the 11th room after claiming the reward. It was just too risky to proceed further without support. He was confident in his warded armor, but if he was caught in an ambush like the Ark Mage, he feared he would not fair much better. He didn't particularly want to waste life-saving treasures on a dungeon that intended to work with adventures with reasonable difficulty levels and a preference for games instead of death. The reward from level 11 was good, a giant diamond, but he just wanted to play it safe.

He quickly backtracked through the levels and exited through the front. Spotting Wilson, who was conversing with Leroy, he laughed, "Wow, Wilson, you got popped like a nub!"

--Brian--

I finally made my way through the crowded streets, arrived at the job board, and started scrolling through the interface. There didn't seem to be anything I was interested in, but I did finally find a job I could probably get:

Substitute School Teacher

Requirement:

Teach prepared lesson plans at guild elementary

Interview:

Tomorrow 1 PM

I was hovering, about to click on the job description, when someone repeatedly tapped me from behind. I turned, and there was a young woman. "Excuse me, sir! My name is Sharon. You look like you need work! She did your interviews last night and is pleased to offer you this" Sharon handed me a paper that read "Guild Expeditionary Dance instructor" I turned the page, and a prompt displayed:

Guild Dance Instructor

Requirement:

Teach adventures to pass the dance puzzle room in a dungeon

Benefits:

Premium pay, Guild Pension Plan

My brain finally caught up, and I asked the woman, "Who is she?" Sharon replied, "Who is who?" "When you first engaged with me, you said, "She did your interviews… Who is she?" Sharon replied, "I'm not sure what you're talking about. I recognize you as the city guard instructor and think you are perfect for this job. Do you accept?"

"I accept! I replied. This looks perfect for me!" I already knew there wouldn't be any detectable conversation mentioning "She" if I ordered the Armageddon to replay our discussion, but what about brain activity?

I toggled my com to the Armageddon as I walked back to my apartment. "Give me an update. Did the quantum scan detect unusual brain activity during my conversation with Sharon?" The Armagaddon replied, "I had everything monitored. No unusual brain activity." I frowned. I had defiantly heard Sharon say, "She did your interviews" how could there not be any brain activity reflecting that?

Aside from the strange reference to "She," the situation was hilarious. I giggled as I walked back to my apartment. The appointment was for the dance room in my own dungeon! I couldn't believe my luck. Then I frowned. This wasn't luck. Sharon mentioned something about interviews last night. I thought back to my conversation with Rupert, and my frown grew deeper. They might not be using a technological WMC, but some sort of manipulation was going on here.